Privacy Shield framework,
the EU Commission issued
a report verifying that
the Privacy Shield has
ensured an adequate level
of data protection in its
first year of operation. The
framework was established
to protect the privacy
rights of anyone in the
EU whose personal data
is transferred to the U.S.

for commercial purposes
and to clarify the legal
requirements of businesses
relying on transatlantic
data transfers. The review
was conducted jointly
by officials representing
the U.S. government, the
European Commission,
and EU data protection
authorities. Despite the
overall positive conclusions,
the Commission drew
up a Staff Working
Document with a list of
recommendations.

These include:

· More proactive and
regular monitoring of
companies’ compliance
with their Privacy Shield
obligations by the U.S.

Department of Commerce.

· More awareness-raising
for EU individuals
about how to exercise
their rights under the
Privacy Shield.

· Closer cooperation
between privacy
enforcers: the U.S.

Department of Commerce,
the Federal Trade
Commission, and the
EU Data Protection
Authorities.

· Establishment
of protection for
non-Americans as part of
the ongoing debate in the
U.S. on the reauthorization
and reform of Section 702

of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA).

· Appointment of a
permanent Privacy Shield
Ombudsperson.

For more information,
see the EU-U.S. Privacy
Shield documents page:

http://bit.ly/2iokwxg.

DC antitrust lawyer picked
to head FTC

Joseph Simons, a partner
in the Washington DC
antitrust group at Paul,
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &
Garrison, was nominated
in October by the Trump
administration to be the
next chairman of the
Federal Trade Commission.

Simons is the former head
of antitrust enforcement
at the FTC; he served as
director of the Bureau of
Competition from 2001 to

2003, during George W.

Bush’s first term. During
Simons’ tenure at the FTC,
the agency prevailed in

46 merger enforcement
actions. He also initiated
more than 100 non-merger
investigations. In addition
to Simons, the White House
nominated Noah Phillips,
chief counsel for Sen. John
Cornyn (R-Texas), and Rohit
Chopra, a senior fellow at
the Consumer Federation
of America, to fill the FTC’s
two other open positions.